Only 30 people would be allowed to attend burials in Manila North Cemetery amid the COVID-19 pandemic, its official announced Thursday.
Manila North Cemetery Administrator Roselle Castaneda told Dobol B as News TV that the only vehicle allowed inside the cemetery would be the hearse carrying the coffin.
“Sa burial po, ang ia-allow namin ay ‘yung karo lang po,” she said.
(We will only allow the hearse in the burial.)
“Doon sa kamag-anak na makikipaglibing, ngayon pa lang humihingi na kami ng inyong pang-unawa na maximum of 30 persons lang po ang i-allow namin para po sa makikipaglibing,” Castaneda added.
(We are asking for understanding to the relatives who would attend the funeral, we will only allow a maximum of 30 persons.)
Those who will go inside the Manila North Cemetery should observe health protocols such as temperature check, wearing of face mask and face shields, disinfection, and obtaining information of visitors for contact tracing.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno earlier decided to close all public and private cemeteries in the city during the Undas 2020 holidays, which is from October 31 to November 3.
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Manila North Cemetery only allows 30 people in burials
Moreno inked Executive Order No. 38, ordering the temporary closure of the cemeteries over the Undas holidays to stop the spread of the respiratory disease.
The Manila Mayor asked the public for understanding, saying he made the announcement early to give the public time to visit their loved ones before closing the cemeteries during Undas 2020.
He said around 1.5 million people visit Manila South Cemetery alone. In 2019, the visitors in the Manila North Cemetery reached 500,000.
Meanwhile, Filipinos might no longer practice the annual traditions for Undas 2020 as the National Task Force against COVID-19 would recommend prohibiting the public from going to cemeteries amid the pandemic.
Testing czar and deputy chief implementer of the national policy against COVID-19 Vince Dizon said the decision is not yet final, and concerned government agencies would still discuss the recommendation.
As of September 9, the Philippines has 55,614 active cases of COVID-19 after recording 185,543 recoveries and 3,986 deaths.